Tongue and Groove backs

[Craig D Peltier]

I have a large project coming up this summer thats going to require backs on cabinets and built ins thats going to require paint grade T&G.
I called dunn lumber and they didnt have any panels in it. They had pine for 80 cents a lineal ft and cedar for 1.80 lineal.
Does anyone know if theres any good panels of T&G out there. The Borgs stuff is horrid. The groove is all wavy and not very prominent at all.

Or what have you done in the past?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I usually use a sheet of luan if all I want is a back. If it's gotta serve some purpose other than being a stiff member to keep the cab from wracking ( such as to hang a heavy cab) I'll use 1/2" Birch.

[Craig D Peltier]

Luan has tongue and groove in it?

[Craig D Peltier]

No one uses tongue and groove back that can let me know how they do it.
Do you know of a sheet good?
Do you make your own?
Do you buy your own tongue and grooved boards?
If you buy the boards do you create rabbett on back on all 4 sides so you have something to nail too?

[Joe Chritz]

Good question and an interesting proposition.

I would go two routes for paint grade. First would be to try to find a bit that I could use to route the groves to make a sheet of mdf look like T&G. I have access to a CNC so that may be cheating but it could be done with a router guide and plunge router.

Second would be to use a 1/4 plywood back and attach T&G material directly to it. I know some of the T&G pine the BORG's stock is available thinner than 3/4.

There is probably a bead board available somewhere that would work. Finding it is another animal all together. OK three ways I would attack it, with the bead board panel being first.

Joe

[Mark Rakestraw]

Hi again Craig,

I've done several solid wood backs. I've started by planing or resawing the lumber down to somewhere between 3/8" and 9/16" thick, depending upon the size of the piece. Unless I'm doing beadboard I use random width boards. I've always done tongue and groove because I don't trust shiplap not to warp and separate at the joint. With lots of steps you can just use the 1/8" sawkerf for the groove, then make the tongue.... a few more steps and you can chamfer the edges for a V-groove when the boards are put together. An easier way is to buy the thin-wood tongue and groove set from Freud. It's quite a bit of extra work to do a solid wood back, but well worth the effort in my opinion. I don't have pictures on this computer, but I've added my website to my member profile. Lots of things in my gallery show solid wood backs: walnut bedroom set, sycamore secretary, and the built-in walnut library.

Mark

[John Keeton]

Don't know if it is much help, but in looking at some homes recently, some of the rooms were done in 5" horizontal v-groove material. When I inquired as to the material we were told it was mdf, T&G, that had been caulked in the grooves. It was one of the smoothest applications I had seen. Seems one could do a shiplap on 1/2" mdf and get a really clean look that would be stable and would give the T&G look.

[Vince Shriver]

Mark R. A real pleasure tripping thru your website. Beautiful work.

[John Keeton]

I agree! Nice example of T&G in the kitchen piece. Very clean look and amazed at how the sycamore shows. Mark, what is the method of drawer slide on the cherry piece. Looks like an insert, but can't really tell.

[Craig D Peltier]

Thanks for the ideas.I might like the freud Tongue and Groove set. I havent looked for it yet but if it can do most of the dirty work that would be nice.
Nice to find a bit(s) that would be able to groove MDF as well.

Mark very nice work. I especially liked the walnut and maple dresser as well as the walnut built in. The white ent center looked great in that house as well.

[Dennis Jackson]

Could you check out some unfinished pine flooring? It would already be tongue and groove and some of it would have a chamfer on the side. The chamfer would not be hard to add if all the other work was done already. The random lengths coud be a problem depending on the size of what you are building.

[Mark Rakestraw]

Thanks for the kind words. John, the drawer slides on the mission sideboard are just routed grooves in the drawer that ride on a cleat on the interior of the case. The color difference, which isn't so pronounced in real life, is from taping it off before finishing so I wouldn't gum up the works. Also just below the groove in the drawer is a strip of clear hdpe plastic tape.

[Steve Clardy]

Craig. You could use mdf ----eek:eek: did I just say mdf? Lol

Then use a LHR molder.

I'm doing some special cabinets doors here with the molder.

[Josiah Bartlett]

The T&G in the doors on this project is big orange box pine wainscotting, its 1/4" thick and it turned out to be pretty decent stuff, I only had a few rejects for knots. I noticed that they now carry longer lengths of it for ceilings.
http://lh4.google.com/josiahtheengineer/RpMjafwfq0I/AAAAAAAAADc/Cv9GUyMfVJU/s288/builtin.jpg

[Bill Hylton]

Not sure exactly what you want to do here, Craig. Do you prefer sheet goods to expedite construction? Or is solid wood your preference? What's the rationale for tongue-and-groove?

If the appearance of t&g is sufficient, why not rout v-grooves in a smooth panel. 3/8" or 1/2" mdf, for example. Clamp a straightedge to the sheet and run your router fitted with a v-groover along it. You could space the grooves randomly or equally.

If you prefer to use lumber, I'd suggest using a shiplap instead of t&g. Use 1/2" or 5/8" thick stock. Cut the joinery with a single setup--dado head on the table saw or a straight bit in a table-mounted router or a rabbeting bit in a handheld router. If you want embellishment, rout a 1/8" bead along the shoulder of the rabbet. I've used shiplaps for backs in quite a number of projects.

Good luck with your project.

Bill

[Dan Bradley]

I finally feel like i have some insight and can add to a subject!

I have used the big orange borg's 1/4" thick 3 1/2" wwidethick bead board all over the place and it works very well for cabinet backs. I think it only comes in 8' length in 6 packs. they also make a 6" wide mdf version that comes in longer lengths, this doesn't work as well for cabinet backs unless you glue it to a backer.

hope this helps

[Craig D Peltier]

Not sure exactly what you want to do here, Craig. Do you prefer sheet goods to expedite construction? Or is solid wood your preference? What's the rationale for tongue-and-groove?

If the appearance of t&g is sufficient, why not rout v-grooves in a smooth panel. 3/8" or 1/2" mdf, for example. Clamp a straightedge to the sheet and run your router fitted with a v-groover along it. You could space the grooves randomly or equally.

If you prefer to use lumber, I'd suggest using a shiplap instead of t&g. Use 1/2" or 5/8" thick stock. Cut the joinery with a single setup--dado head on the table saw or a straight bit in a table-mounted router or a rabbeting bit in a handheld router. If you want embellishment, rout a 1/8" bead along the shoulder of the rabbet. I've used shiplaps for backs in quite a number of projects.

Good luck with your project.

Bill

Thanks Bill, I did prefer the quick method of sheet goods. I like your idea of the v groove.I think this will be the cheapest way to go and less time consuming and also a very good look that I have control over. This is what the client has her mind set up on.There on a lake adding an addition on and thye want that nantucket fell to there home?

[Jim Becker]

If you don't want to make your own T&G materials, a good, full service lumber yard should be able to supply you with appropriate material. But I did get nice T&T pine from the borg a couple years ago for an armoire project.